Creative Codex

What makes Blake's Songs of Innocent & of Experience a work of genius? What is the nature of vision? What is Blake's concept of fourfold vision? Is it even graspable by the intellect? We will make the attempt. Join us for a deep dive into all of this and much more.

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View the companion gallery for this episode here, including read-along versions of the poems: ⁠https://mjdorian.com/blake/⁠

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View an online copy of A Blake Dictionary by S. Foster Damon: ⁠https://books.google.com/books?id=HOxpOMQ_Pa8C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false⁠

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• A Blake Dictionary by S. Foster Damon

William Blake is considered one of the greatest artists and poets of the English language, yet he lived most of his life in poverty. Why? Many of his acquaintances considered him mad while friends who knew his art considered him 'brilliantly mad'. What was so different about Blake?

Join me on this William Blake series as we pry open the mind of this celebrated creative genius to find the true meaning of his enigmatic works.

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View the companion gallery for this episode here, including read-along version of the poems: https://mjdorian.com/blake/

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View an online copy of A Blake Dictionary by S. Foster Damon: https://books.google.com/books?id=HOxpOMQ_Pa8C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

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• A Blake Dictionary by S. Foster Damon

Dr. Carl Jung began to have apocalyptic visions in October 1913 which compelled him to engage a dialogue with his unconscious. In the following months, he transcribed these experiences in his personal journals (Black Books). When World War 1 started in June 1914, Jung realized that his visions, dreams, and meditations may have been precognitions of the impending war.

On this minisode, we explore the writings and journals of Dr. Carl Jung to help us better understand this pivotal moment in Jung's life and how it inspired his later psychological theories.

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Where language breaks, art begins. Language routinely fails us in conversations about art and creativity. In the following essay, I elaborate on the reason for this problem and offer three terms which can help give more depth and clarity to our discussions of art.

The three primary experiential aspects of art:

Art-making: verb, a creative act that results in an art-object.

Art-object: noun, a material or immaterial byproduct of art-making.

Artessence: noun, the state of mind of an art experience.

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Read the essay in its original written form here: https://mjdorian.com/language/

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What happens to Alexander McQueen when he achieves his life's dream? Is he able to continue creating inspired collections in spite of the intense pressures of global fame? What are the personal meanings behind his most iconic collections? And what leads to his tragic end?

We will explore all of those questions and much more on this finale to the McQueen series.

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Video of the McQueen's Eclect Dissect (1997) collection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiJH8B2HxGU&t=136s

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All creative geniuses have visions throughout their lives which guide their work. What does it mean to have a vision? How does a vision differ from a goal? How do you discover your own vision? Let's talk about it.

This insight developed from recent studies and reflections I've been engaged in, it is part of my current attempt to define creative genius through several traits which all creative geniuses seem to share. In searching through all of the insights gathered over five years of doing this show, I've noticed that all of the figures we have covered have a vision which, in some way, guides their creativity.

I hope you find this minisode inspiring.

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Here are the questions mentioned in the episode. I recommend getting a journal or opening up a notepad on your computer and answering them to compel a vision of your own. Feel free to be as prosaic and lengthy as you like. 

Even if the process of answering these doesn’t lead to a new vision immediately, the act of dialogue with your inner world will jumpstart something which will.

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Support Creative Codex on my Patreon and gain access to exclusive episodes, including the Kurt Cobain series, the RED BOOK READING series, and all the Episode Exclusives: 

More than anything else in the world, Alexander McQueen at 21 years old wants to be a fashion designer. He embarks on a bold journey to flip the fashion industry on its head. But what makes his early collections so revolutionary and controversial? And what leads to him being 'discovered'?

A transcript is available of this episode on my site: ⁠https://mjdorian.com/transcripts/⁠

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How does a boy from a working class London background with no connections to the fashion industry go on to become one of the greatest fashion designers of all time? This is the story of Lee Alexander McQueen. Join me as we dive into the life and work of one of the most celebrated and controversial designers of the 21st century.

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Support Creative Codex on my Patreon and get access to exclusive episodes, including the Kurt Cobain series, the RED BOOK READING series, and all the Episode Exclusives: 

⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/mjdorian⁠⁠

Buy me a coffee or add to my fancy books fund on Venmo:

⁠⁠https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3235189073379328069&created=1681912456.228596&printed=1⁠⁠

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A transcript is available of this episode on my site: https://mjdorian.com/transcripts/

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Research Sources:

• Alexander McQueen: Blood Beneath the Skin by Andrew Wilson

• Alexander McQueen: The Life and the Legacy by Judith Watt

• McDowell's Directory of Twentieth Century Fashion

• Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty

• McQueen (Documentary, 2018)

• Cutting Up Rough: Alexander McQueen (Documentary, BBC, 1997)

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Audio Editor: D. Martin Sound

All Music by MJDorian

Written & Produced by MJDorian

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Thank you to my Dream Maker tier!

Executive Producer: Mike Hill

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Thank-you's & 'shout outs' to the Shadow Fam!

Shadow-Fam: AKD, Anna Wolff, Aranea Push, Arturo Barrios, Barak Talker, Brandon Massengale, Cesar Roman, Chee Sing Kam, Clark Price, Clinton King, Dallas O’Kelly, Danny Olague, DVM, Elle, Ellis Morton, Gabriel Trudeau, Geo_H, Hamed Iranmehr, Jane Lopardo, Janet Roccanova, Jaskaran Purewal, Jasmine Carroll, Joe Boland, Kahlil Pyburn, Kawika, Kayla Dawson, Kristin Richard, Kristina Lamour Sansone, Maurus Fitze, Michael Lloyd, Nicole Wessel, Owen McAteer, Rach, Rachel Schultz, Rebecca, Ricky, Robert, Romina, Scott Wierzbicki, Sigitas Treciokas, Simon Bonanno, Sowmya Hariharan, Tamara, Terry W, Uppity Mantis, Venetia Nadin, Yadie Cisneros, Zarja Menart, and Zuzana. Thank you for your support!

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Connect with me on social media for all the newest updates:

YouTube: ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/creativecodex⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/mjdorian/⁠⁠

Twitter: ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/mjdorian⁠⁠

TikTok: ⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@mjdorian⁠⁠

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Creative Codex is written & produced by MJDorian.

All rights reserved.

Ever feel like life is too busy to explore your creativity? Ever feel like you don't have enough time?

All of the questions in this episode were sent in by listeners via Instagram, Patreon messages, or Spotify responses.

Support Creative Codex on my Patreon and get access to exclusive episodes, including the RED BOOK READING series and all the Episode Exclusives: 

⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/mjdorian⁠⁠

Questions (in order of appearance, with timestamps):

Creative Codex Soundtrack Vol.1: https://mjdorian.bandcamp.com

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Produced by MJDorian